


Every Friday

by kate882



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 18:59:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4636569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate882/pseuds/kate882
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every Friday Kise would ask Kuroko to go on a date with him that weekend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Friday

Kise didn’t think much about sexuality.He was in a job that resulted in him being surrounded by pretty people of all sorts of orientations.

Kuroko Tetsuya did not grab his attention at first. He was decently cute, sure, but so were half of the girls that threw themselves at him. Kuroko Tetsuya was also, as far as Kise was concerned, a waste of his time. He was nothing short of bad at basketball, but was, for some reason, on the first string and more respected than Kise himself by the regulars. Regulars who Kuroko was somehow a part of.

But then . . . well, Kise understood why Kuroko was called the phantom sixth man, and he suddenly had Kise’s undivided attention because Kise had never seen anything like him. Interestingly enough, this attention was not reciprocated. If anything, Kuroko seemed annoyed by Kise.

This was new to the boy who was used to people throwing themselves at him. It was an odd mix of refreshing and depressing to see Kuroko go out of his way to avoid Kise in favor of Aomine.

That didn’t stop Kise from trying. Every Friday Kise would ask Kuroko on a date. And every Friday he was rejected. Kuroko was almost always polite about it, but it was a very clear rejection none the less.

During their third year of middle school, Kise forgot to ask Kuroko one Friday. He didn’t notice the resigned look on Kuroko’s face when he left the gym without a word to the phantom player. He honestly didn’t notice Kuroko at all.

He was too busy thinking about why basketball didn’t seem to give him the same thrill anymore. Why he didn’t care that they had a game the next day just because he knew they would win.

It wasn’t that he forgot the next Friday, although after witnessing Akashi’s mental break, getting rejected wasn’t exactly at the top of his list of things to do, but Kuroko wasn’t even there to ask. He’d chased after Aomine, like he always did.

It wasn’t lost on Kise when Kuroko came to school the next day with a haunted look on his face or that Aomine hadn’t shown up at all. It was just . . . for some reason he couldn’t make himself care and that would have been terrifying if he could feel anything past the disappointment basketball now filled him with.

He still went through the motions of shouting “Kurokocchi!’ whenever he saw Kuroko, and Kuroko still brushed him off, but it didn’t feel the same. Or maybe that was just Kise projecting. He wasn’t sure.

Kuroko quit the team. Kise guessed it was because of what they had done to his friend, but really, Kise didn’t get the big deal. His friend was going to lose anyway. His team simply wasn’t good enough. No one’s was. So, what was the difference?

He didn’t see Kuroko again until he heard that he was playing against Kuroko’s new team. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but something in him pulled him over there. Kuroko didn’t seem very happy to see him, but that was pretty normal.

There was a redhead who was almost obnoxiously like Aomine. Maybe Kuroko had a type. He felt a hollow ache at the thought, and he was a bit surprised by that. He hadn’t felt that in a while. He also hadn’t seen Aomine and Kuroko interacting in a while.

He almost wanted to shake Kuroko and ask him “Kurokocchi, why do you keep picking the same person over me? Why is it never me?" when Kuroko declined his offer to play on the same team again. He resisted and wondered where that had come from. Maybe it was just because he hadn’t seen Kuroko in a while and old feelings were resurfacing.

“Kurokocchi, I’ve been crying into my pillow every night since you rejected my offer.” Kise whined the line he had long since memorized because it was what he would say every Monday after Kuroko’s rejection of his Friday date offer.

He saw something flash in Kuroko’s eyes that disappeared  before he could identify it and was replaced by icy coldness that startled him a little. “Kise-kun, please stop being so sarcastic.” Kuroko told him flatly.

The red haired Aomine was still making noise so Kise finally spared him a bit of attention as a distraction from the chill Kuroko had given him.

Kise hadn’t felt anything as strong as the absolute horror that washed over him when he felt his hand collided with Kuroko’s head in over a year, and he couldn’t even come up with something to say, not even an apology.

But Kuroko got back up, and it reminded Kise of why he fell for Kuroko in the first place. And he hadn't been so pumped for a game since before Aomine and Kuroko had their falling out. Kagami and Kuroko were good. He’d never had to play against Kuroko before, and hadn’t realized just how terrifying he could be when coordinating with a good light. But Kise was still sure that this one would end up burning too bright as well, and he told Kuroko as much after he lost.

Losing to someone that wasn’t Aomine . . . it was something else. He could feel the change washing over him almost immediately after, and he was pretty sure that his tears were of relief. He had a rival. Basketball could have meaning again. There was someone else to aspire to beat. There had been thrill in the game.

Kuroko was a thrill again.

Kise didn’t even think twice about it when he texted Kuroko the next Friday. _Kurokocchi, do you want to go out with me this weekend?_

He wasn’t surprised by the reply he got back. _No thank you, Kise-kun._ He didn’t get to see the small smile that formed on Kuroko’s face at the familiarity, but he did notice that the response had been faster than any other time Kuroko had ever texted him back about anything. Almost like he had lost his reluctance to engage with Kise.

This pattern continued until Seirin’s match against Touou.

Kise wasn’t surprised by what happened, by the broken look on Kuroko’s face. He couldn’t hear what Aomine had said to Kuroko from his spot in the stands, but he could guess after knowing both of them.

A few days later it was Friday, and Kise got a text from Kuroko asking if he wanted to go out that night.

Kise felt an ache in his chest as he typed out his reply. _I’ve been people’s distraction and had my own distractions before. It never seems to actually help people._

He didn’t get a text back, but half an hour later he heard a knock at his door and found Kuroko there, drenched in rain. “Kurokocchi! What are you doing? You’re going to get sick!” Kise frantically moved Kuroko inside, and lead him to his room to find a pair of dry cloths that could fit him at least a little.

“I’m sorry.” Kuroko said quietly, standing in the middle of Kise’s room, looking unsure what to do with himself as Kise looked through his vast closet.

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to your immune system. It’s just trying to help you, and then you go out in the rain with no umbrella!” Kise replied. He gave up on finding a shirt that would fit Kuroko, and instead put his efforts into finding pants that wouldn’t fall off of him.

“No, I mean, I’m sorry for what I texted you.” Kuroko clarified, looking at Kise’s floor.

Kise unearthed an old pair of gym shorts that smelled clean and pulled out a random t-shirt before answering Kuroko. “Is that why you came here? To apologize? Kurokocchi, it’s not that big of a deal. It happens to me all the time.” He told him, walking to the center of his room to stand in front of Kuroko.

“Which is exactly why I hate that I did that to you.” Kuroko told him, and Kise gave him a small smile.

“It’s okay, Kurokocchi. Really.” He assured.

“It’s _not_. I was never supposed to do that to you, and you have every right to hate me right now.”

“Kurokocchi, look at me.” Kise instructed, and it took a few seconds, but Kuroko eventually did. “I could _never_ hate you. But do you want to know why it’s okay that you did that? Because I've been used before. Several times, actually. Never once has anyone cared to fix it as much as you do right now. I don’t even usually get a texted apology. You came here to tell me directly. As much as you try to pretend you don’t care, the fact that you’re standing here proves  otherwise. Besides, you wouldn’t have gone through with it anyway.”

That last part seemed to catch Kuroko’s attention and he looked at Kise expectantly for his reasoning in thinking that.

“Kurokocchi isn’t a particularly nice person, but cruel is not a word I would use to describe him.” Kise flashed Kuroko a sad smile. “You texted me because you were hurt. Aominecchi hurt you, and you wanted to forget about that, so you were going to use me as a way to do that, but you wouldn’t have done it. You're not the kind of person who hurts others for your own feelings. At least not intentionally.”

Kuroko looked like he had stumbled accross the answers to all of his questions somewhere in what Kise was saying. “You overestimate me, Kise-kun. I think I would have done it.”

“You underestimate yourself, Kurokocchi. Because whatever it is that’s going through your head right now is exactly why you wouldn’t have done it.” Kise handed Kuroko the clothes. “I’m going to make dinner for both of us, you can change and think about whatever revelation you just had while I do that.”

“You-” Kuroko started, but Kise cut him off.

“Can cook? Surprising, I know. I’m actually pretty good at it.” Kise flashed a grin and walked out, heading towards his kitchen.

“You can also figure out if you want to try talking about your feelings while I work on that. I know it’s an odd concept to you, but I hear it helps.” Kise called over his shoulder.

About ten minutes later, Kuroko showed up in his kitchen, practically swimming in Kise’s shirt and leaned against his counter. “You like me.” He said, sounding certain, but rather awed by the statement.

“I thought we established that a while ago.” Kise replied, stirring the pasta he was working on.

“No, I mean yes, but . . .”

“Yes or no, Kurokocchi. You should pick one.” Kise glanced at him.

“Yes, but you _actually_ like me.” Kuroko reiterated.

“I need more than that, Kurokocchi. Use your words.”

“I’m trying!” Kuroko looked distinctly uncomfortable. “You don’t just like me because you can’t have me.”

“Is that what you thought?” Kise asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Yes. You have people throwing themselves at you all the time. And it’s not a self confidence issue when I say that a lot of them are better looking than me considering your field of work. so, the logical assumption was that you pursued me for the challenge. Once I gave in you would lose interest.” Kuroko explained.

“That’s a rather harsh opinion of me you’ve got there.”  Kise observed.

“Are you saying you wouldn’t do that? Because I’ve seen you do it. With sports and people. I did notice you before basketball.”

“No, no, I’m not denying that it sounds like something I would do. I just haven’t in a while and wouldn’t do it to you.” Kise clarified, putting the pasta onto two plates for them.

“I noticed. Because I gave in today, and you’re still here.” Kuroko said, taking the plate Kise offered and sitting down at the table in the room connected to the kitchen.

“Does that change anything for you?” Kise asked, trying to keep the hope out of his voice.

"I . . . don’t know.” Kuroko said with a small frown.

“You don’t have to answer me now.” Kise told him when it seemed like Kuroko was having some kind of internal struggle to figure out his feelings, and Kise didn’t want him to make a decision he might regret just because he felt pressured to come up with an answer.

Kuroko visibly relaxed at his words and nodded, giving Kise a grateful smile.

When they were done eating, Kiroko decided to go home, rejecting Kise’s offer to walk him there.

Kise didn’t see Kuroko for a while, but Kuroko was more willing to communicate with him through text than before. Kise even got him to send a smiley face emoticon one time. He considered it to be one of his crowning achievements. He didn’t ask Kuroko out anymore. He texted him the Friday after Kuroko had come over that he would wait for Kuroko to figure things out.

It wasn’t until right before the Winter Cup that Kuroko texted Kise two words that made his heart stop and then accelerate. _Coffee date?_

Being in a relationship didn’t affect their playing against each other. Although, Kise thought Kasamatsu was going to kill him when he’d run over to Seirin’s side of the court yelling, “Kurokocchi! Can I get a good luck kiss before the game?” He also thought that Seirin’s coach was going to kill Kuroko when he gave Kise one.


End file.
